Discussion of videodisc instruction for education and training focuses on a seven-stage quality control model for use with large development projects. Topics discussed include development of instructional goals, videodisc design, development review, production review, programing review, revisions, and a final review and sign off. (eight…

A good formative evaluator, who helps programs become as effective as possible, behaves remarkably like a good personal coach. Nine ways in which a formative evaluator can help a program manager are listed, and implications for practicing evaluators and the evaluation profession are detailed. (SLD)

Describes differences in formative evaluation techniques between instructional designers and subject matter experts. Content analysis based on think-aloud data focusing on differences in task interpretation, problem identification and revision statements, and review strategies is discussed; use of instructional systems design models by…

This article is an annotated bibliography of 36 formative, summative, and theoretical research studies on the 4 educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop since 1969: "Sesame Street,""The Electric Company,""3-2-1 Contact," and "Square One TV." (LRW)

A program evaluation was conducted to provide formative information for improving the Ontario (Canada) Course Teacher In-Service program. Data were collected through 683 teacher-completed questionnaires, focus groups, and document reviews. Twenty-five recommendations were constructed for development and redesign of a similar program. (SLD)

Describes formative evaluation strategies for the first year of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST). The evaluation emphasizes perceived effectiveness of training for trainers and support providers, with regular monitoring of reaction to the system by critical stakeholders. The paper discusses plans for…

Describes the trial use of formative assessment strategies in science classes in three English schools. Discusses the feasibility, benefits, and implementation of formative assessments in science. (Author/WRM)

Describes formative research methodology and how it can be used for procedural instructional design theory. Compares formative research with formative evaluation for instructional products and discusses objectivity, trustworthiness, construct validity, and the need for greater use of formative research methodology. (Contains 32 references.)…

The dynamic interplay between internal and external evaluation in formative and summative studies of an intervention program aimed at promoting mathematics, science, and technology education was explored. Results emphasize the need to define the roles of formative and summative evaluation and the contributions of internal and external evaluators…

The deficit model of assessment dominating education in postwar Britain largely disappeared in the 1970s. Inherent weaknesses of the 11-plus exam, which still survives, may explain current obsession with formative assessment. Record keeping, grading, and other difficulties with changes wrought by the 1988 Education Reform Act and the National…

Explores the value of action research as a tool for educational practitioners to examine and potentially improve their own practice and thus enhance student learning. Discusses the relationship between feedback, formative evaluation, action research, and other educational research; and provides examples of evaluation enquiries from India and…

Describes one university's development, through action research, of formative elements in assessment, reviewing the planning, implementation, and evaluation of change in assessment; reporting the action research through implementation of actions to facilitate more effective use of formative feedback; and outlining evaluation of these actions…

Offers a conceptual evaluation of primary assessment policy and policy process in the Republic of Ireland. Considers the National Council for Curricula and Assessment's policy document "A Programme for Reform: Curriculum and Assessment Policy towards the New Century" and refers to the primary teachers' union stance on assessment.…

Describes one school district's mandatory 2-hour workshop designed to certify substitute teachers. The workshop explains the district's expectations of substitute teachers, provides information and instructional techniques to facilitate learning and proper classroom control, and allows questions and concerns to be raised and clarified by…

This study assessed the impact of a prevention program on the growth of delinquency from 13 to 16 years of age and examined whether its impact operated through a chain of events compatible with many developmental models. Analysis showed that the program had an indirect effect on the growth of delinquency from 13 to 16 years of age. (Author)